


Halcyon

by SnowWolf5552



Series: The Harbinger Series [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Badass Original Character, Gen, Kidnapping, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ryloth - Freeform, Twi'leks, Work Up For Adoption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-09-28 16:59:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10140512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowWolf5552/pseuds/SnowWolf5552
Summary: Talanis isn't quite done in the galaxy. Neither is the Force's meddling, for that matter. In other words, the continuation ofHarbinger.[Discontinued. Read ch. 3]





	1. Chapter 1

It had been nearly three months since the beginning of the war, and I was wondering why I was on Ryloth of all places, investigating a kidnapping. _Supposed kidnapping,_  I mused as I glanced over my notes and doodled invisible animals on the desk with my finger.

The kidnapped persons, a Twi'lek girl about five years old named Fia Uein and her mother, Sai Uein, had been taken shortly after the war had begun. I glanced outside and let out a heavy sigh as I spotted droid dropships overhead. _More droids,_  I thought morosely. This would not be an incredibly easy job, would it? I rubbed my face and stood up, making my way for the door.

I stepped outside into the capital city of Ryloth, Lessu. Several of my neighbors peered out their windows and stood on their porches. Some whispered in Twi'leki, others in Basic, and some spoke in what sounded like Huttese. I licked my lips as I saw them pass over the wall to sit on the plains just outside the city. Soon, they'd be marching into the city, doing what they would.

I cursed under my breath and headed back inside, locking the door as I did so. I shuttered the windows and began to pack quietly. I had to get out of the city, but I wasn't sure if I could get off Ryloth. If anything, I could try to _warn_  someone at least.

* * *

 

Getting out of the city was harder than it looked. There were a constant guard and a strict curfew, for all the good it did. Lessu and the majority of Ryloth were under lockdown. I pressed myself against the wall, feeling for my new grappling hook as I scanned the droids. Most were your plain brownish ones with blasters, about four of them. A couple of what I called 'tankers' and a single droidekas, or destroyer.

I swallowed as I took a thermal detonator in the other hand, and crouched low. I pressed it to start and sent it rolling towards the group. They were rather bunched together as the explosive went off. It managed to knock back the droidekas and I ran for it.

The droid shot mostly aimlessly at me once it recovered as I got to the edge where the plasma bridge was usually off. A bolt clipped my prosthetic as I jumped off the little island Lessu was on, took a deep breath, and fired the hook.

The hook slammed into a ledge on the other side of the canyon, pulling taut and yanking me towards it. It jammed about ten feet down from the ledge, leaving me to climb. By the time I got up, my hands ached from the cord and I was exhausted. _At least it's under the cover of darkness,_  I mused as I began to climb upwards again. I was perhaps twenty feet from the top, so I had a long climb ahead of me.

Once I pulled myself over the edge, I began to walk. No sense in wasting time by stopping to rest while they searched for me. I drank some water as I alternated between running and walking. Side stitches burned in my ribs and a stabbing feeling from my prosthetic roiled in my gut as I grit my teeth and kept moving. I had a hand on my blaster as I peered into a tiny cave a few hours before dawn. It sloped upwards, which was good as it was starting to rain now.

I clambered inside and curled up on the bare ground, hoping I'd survive until morning.

* * *

 

I woke up and began to stretch. I instantly regretted it as an ache set itself into my muscles. I let out a soft grunt of pain and slight frustration as I stood, inching outside. The ground was wet and I had to slog through an ankle-deep puddle at the bottom of the slope.

So yeah, it was wet. And muddy. I was glad my prosthetic wasn't electrical because then I'd need some kind of crutch to keep moving. I glanced around to make sure there weren't any battle droids around before I kept moving.

Before long, I was found by a trio of Twi'leks I didn't recognize. I warily watched them as they pulled up on a speeder. The one driving, a female, looked over at me with steel in her eyes.

"Hello," I greeted lamely, crossing my arms. I could reach my blaster quickly enough. "Do I know you?" The other two, both male, watched me with sharp, wary eyes.

"No," the female said crisply. "But we know you. And we'd like you to come with us," she gestured at the last seat. Her voice was Ryloth-accented and rather thick as well.

"What if I don't?" I rebuked, edging away. "What would you have to offer, anyway?" I raised a brow and did not uncross my arms. One of the males snorted.

"If we wanted you dead, you'd already be so," the Twi'lek told me, and I narrowed my eyes at her. She sighed heavily. "Just get in. Cham Syndulla wants to speak with you,"

I wilted. "Fine," I grumped, clambering in and sitting down. The third Twi'lek shook his head as we began to speed away in the direction the trio had come from.

* * *

 

It took several hours to arrive at the Freedom Fighters' base. By that time, it was near noon and the temperature was beginning to rise. I was guarded by the three Twi'leks as we moved inside. People bustled about, paying little or no attention to me. Or, if they were worried, they were good at hiding it.

I took several deep breaths, watching with hawk eyes. I needed to fix my leg and probably get a new pair of pants, not to mention just sleep for a week.

We eventually came to Cham, who was sitting at what seemed like a desk. I was wary, considering I'd just been picked out of the wild and taken to what looked like a pile of rocks. The male glanced up and narrowed his eyes. With few words and a twitch of a lek, the three broke away from me and took up positions along the walls.

"Sit," he said softly. I sat gingerly in the chair, trying not to fidget. He leaned forward, lacing his fingers. "I hear you're quite the figure on Zygerria," Syndulla paused as I watched him carefully. "I'm here to offer you a job... if not, we simply give you the means to get off Ryloth or whatever it is you need," his eyes glittered. "If you take the job," he continued, a smirk growing on his face. "We can pay you,"

I crossed my arms and toyed with the idea in my head. "What have you to offer?" I asked after several moments of tense silence. Cham's smirk grew even wider and leaned closer.

* * *

The deal was I had to help them rescue a group of Freedom Fighters that the droids had captured. Now, they were in a prison in Lessu, a max security one. Cham had estimated for it to take anywhere from a week to two months to plan a rescue, and then a day, maybe more, to actually execute the plan.

The reason they'd hired me was because Cham didn't have enough people. I had been a risk to take, but he'd been willing. He was going to try to get help from a neighboring clan, the Secura.

I swallowed my breath as I looked at the map of Lessu I'd been given cautiously. The prison was outlined in thick, dark lines. I picked up a bit of green wax and began to line the easiest path to the prison. Nearby, the female Twi'lek and the two males that had brought me to Syndulla were scrutinizing a map of the prison itself.

"I never introduced myself, did I?" I asked randomly, glancing over at the three. The woman looked up and snorted. "I'm Talanis Farlander," I added awkwardly.

"Aris Syndulla," she replied calmly. "That is Keo Syndulla, my brother, and our old friend, Wai Juron," Aris told me, gesturing at the men making little marks on their map. "Wai is from Nabat," she commented, before turning back to the map.

I pursed my lips and looked back down at my own map. We'd need more than four people to storm the prison. Maybe ten, more like twenty, and if we went in guns blazing, the casualties would be... higher than anyone would like. I let out a sigh and sat down in the chair, putting my face in my hands.

Sometimes I really hated Ryloth.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been sick lately, and next week I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled, so enjoy this chapter! I'm sorry if I lag with updates; any inspiration has been sparse lately.

I woke to a stabbing pain in the place where my fake leg was and rolled out of bed. My muscles in my thigh spasmed as I grit my teeth and gripped the prosthetic. Some feral instinct wanted to rip off my leg but that would hurt much more than the phantom pain. I stifled a shout as something that felt like glass threaded pain in the spot empty of flesh and blood and bone.

I laid on the hard dirt ground for a good five minutes before the ache faded away. I eventually stood up, dusting off myself and going through my usual morning routine. I was soon called on by Aria and Keo, who ran off to wake Wai. Then, we headed to the map room as quietly as possible, as most people were sleeping at this hour.

It had been approximately a month since the Freedom Fighters had recruited me temporarily, and we had completed a plan that would work. I watched from behind Aria as a group of other Twi'leks clustered around the table. I heard Cham speaking in a low voice in Twi'leki, gesturing at the map.

We approached the group as Cham glanced up and smirked very slightly. I was a little anxious about this because I wasn't sure if I was going out to fight or if I was staying here and waiting.

Several minutes later, I was standing in a ship, cramped with fifteen other people, including Aria. This ship, along with another that held supplies, would land behind a rock formation about a mile from the city, and we were to be a caravan. So I was told, at least.

I jumped from the ship amongst Twi'leks and other humans and made a beeline for the second ship. I quickly picked out what I had as a disguise; simple clothing meant for hard work and chose my weapons. A small blaster and various blades that I hid around my body. Luckily, many had flat handles and were small, which made it easier to hide them.

I watched the others carefully, before moving over to Aria and handing her one of the small, flat-handled knives. "Just in case," I murmured when she gave me a strange look. The Twi'lek slipped it into her boot and busied herself with putting charms on her hat. Most of them were round or sharp and could easily cause trouble if ripped off and thrown at the enemy.

I carefully eased off my fake leg's covering, exchanging it for plainer material. My leg was incredibly noticeable, and I was sad to see it go, but this was important. More important than my leg, at least.

Before long, we were all ready to go. I tugged my hat down over my eyes, which I'd put contacts in to change to hazel. My hair was a good several shades darker, and no one would be able to recognize me. As long as they didn't look too hard, anyway.

Traveling to the city took a good hour and a half, and the checking of I.D.s and whatnot took thirty minutes. I was responsible for supplying music and stories. I swallowed thickly as we began the 'caravan' for the day.

* * *

 

At the end of the day, my fingers throbbed angrily and my throat was dry.

By the time of dusk, when we were to go 'drinking', but we were actually going to split up and assault the prison. One group, the largest, led by Wei, would attack at the gates using explosions and were generally to make a ruckus. Meanwhile, the smaller group led by myself and Keo would sneak in the back and extract the others.

The larger group went first, while I was trying not to fidget in our hiding spot. A bright flare shot up into the sky overhead and a klaxon began. I screwed on a silencer onto my blaster and shot at one of the two droids protecting the door. I heard explosions, some muffled, some loud. Another Twi'lek I didn't recognize knifed the other droid in the neck.

We quickly approached, pulling ourselves up onto the walkway. Another human picklocked the door and let it swing open. I peered inside, nearly knocking my head on a deactivated battle droid. I pressed my blaster against its back and fired, just in case. The others filed in quietly, taking down droids quickly and quietly as possible.

The group, which was six in total, headed down to the solitary cells. Keo knocked over one of the droids and put a blaster bolt through it. I kicked another with my prosthetic and stabbed into its chassis through the collarbone cavity.

I watched the door as Keo and another Twi'lek opened the cell doors. One of the cells held two dead bodies, leaving only four of the six captured Twi'leks alive. I grimaced as another explosion wracked the prison, then went still.

A handful of our group helped three of the remaining four. The last one had to be carried out on a litter. Keo opened the last cell, just in case, and as I peered inside, I nearly gasped in shock.

Sai Uein crouched on the ground, eyes dark and wild. Behind her laid the body of her daughter, Fia, looking to be barely alive. Sai herself had an array of wounds, some bound with cloth, others not.

Keo said something in Twi'leki, which Sai relaxed at hearing and stood. She picked up her daughter and moved out of the cell, dark eyes wary. I didn't blame her.

Soon, we were out of the prison. A handful of the other Twi'leks were releasing those wrongfully imprisoned and getting them out. I watched carefully at our back, making sure nothing crept onto us.

* * *

 

I found myself being thanked by the family members of those who'd been kidnapped, though some were more cautious than others. One had been angry, and nearly punched me in the face; luckily, Aria had intervened. Among the casualties were the two of the kidnapped group, three of Aria's group, and a handful of prisoners; most had been in prison for legitimate reasons, like murder. I would soon have to go, however, and try my damned hardest to help people in this war.

No one deserved to be tread on or beaten. Especially not like this.


	3. Sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, people. It's been a fun, wild ride. I hoped you loved it as much as I did.

I'm going to be blunt.

I have no idea how to really continue this series.

I had an idea, once, for Tala to be crash landed on some planet for the majority of The Clone War, unable to call for help. But I quickly became bored of Halcyon. Not Tala herself or Star Wars or anything, it's just that after so long, it's lost its flavor.

I know many of you [considering I have nearly one thousand hits on Harbinger and several hundred on Halcyon itself] have been awaiting updates. Truth is, I can't anymore.

I'm very sorry.

But I can tell you this; I like the story, where it's gone, where it could have gone. I'm proud of it, in a way, to be so _strong_  with a following I feel like I should not have. I'm proud of all of you, too.

If anyone wants to [unofficially] continue, you may. As long as you ask first, of course. I'd love someone that's more persistent and has a longer attention span to go on with this.

Right now, my focus is on Warping to Nirn [and its 3-4 sequels], Lacuna [and its sequel], and souls made of flames [the sequel to stardust in our veins]. If I can get around to it, I may add another chapter to hate is an ancient game.

But for now... it's all up to you. Have fun.

* * *

**Stats as of 8/14/17**

**Harbinger**

Hits: 959

Kudos: 75

Comments: 2

Bookmarks: 12

Words: 29,083

**Halcyon**

Hits: 155

Kudos: 16

Comments: 0

Bookmarks: 0

Words: 2,511

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, you can find me on tumblr @snowwolf5552 or @stories-by-snow


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